The Open-D Tuning Guitar Spot

Yep, not quite back in the USSR, but definitely back - to the Greater Toronto Area, after a 10-year stretch in Windsor, ON.

Quite happy to be on home turf again.

I have begun advertising private lessons (in open-D tuning, of course), for those aspiring guitarists that feel the need the extra little help in getting going on Guitar.

From my commerical site, you know that my system is designed to be self-taught; it's simple, way easier than standard-tuned guitar, and very intuitive. Great especially for, say, singers who wish to accompany themselves, or frustrated novices looking for a simpler re-start on guitar, or for anyone interested in an easy alternate tuning. But, repeatedly I get requests for private lessons, so there must be a demand.

In response, I am offering in-your-home guitar lessons, in the Greater Toronto Area (I reside in the north GTA - York Region). Let me know if it's of interest.

Labels: learn guitar, lessons, open-d lessons, play guitar

On the site, I always mention the styles I play guitar in, and the many styles suited to which open-D tuning is perfectly suited. Guess which one I never seem to mention?

Folk. As in, folk guitar. As in, acoustic guitar, which is often referred to as - folk guitar.

Make no mistake - open-D tuning is beautifully suited to all songs folky. Just think Joni Mitchell and Bruce Cockburn, to name two relatively obscure open-D-ers.

Or, Bob Dylan - I shall be Free, Corrina Corrina, and Oxford Town on his very first album, and all of the album Blood on the Tracks - all open-D.

As a matter of fact, the folkie in me seems to be surfacing, the more I strum my acoustic guitar in open-D. For the past couple of years, I've even dropped the pick in favor of finger picking (or attempting to). Now, I'm no finger picker, but I do know that open-D just sounds wonderful played this way. For a more percussive attack, of course, the pick is the way to go, although some of the intricacy of a multi-finger attack can be diminished.

So in short, folkies owe it to themselves to give the folk guitar a re-tune to open-D and see the beauty of this tuning in action, in folk music.

Labels: acoustic guitar, easier guitar, easy guitar, folk guitar, guitar, learn guitar, open-D guitar, play guitar

I like to re-print nice comments I get on my website; this one somehow slipped through the cracks so I'd like to post it here:

"I am writing primarily to thank you for your excellent
Guitar-eze program. It has truly unlocked the guitar
for me. For years, I've had the melodies and lyrics
for four original songs, and have been looking for the
right instrument with which to play and record them.
I had always had difficulty with guitar, until I
learned about your program. Thanks to it, I have been
able to write guitar accompaniments for my songs, and
I've begun practicing them with an eye toward
recording.

You have made a real contribution with this method,
and I can't thank you enough. I have a question: In
order to accelerate my progress, I'd like to take a
lesson or two (or more) with an instructor who really
understands and appreciates the value of open D, and
isn't interested in making the guitar more complicated
than it has to be. In other words, I want an
instructor who understands that I'm mainly trying to
learn my own songs, and that I see the guitar as a
means to that end rather than an end in itself.

If I lived anywhere near your part of Ontario, I'd
happily sign up for lessons with you, but I'm in the
Washington, DC area, I was wondering if you knew of
any instructors in DC, Northern Virginia, or Maryland
whom you'd recommend.

I greatly appreciate your assistance, and I am deeply
grateful to you for doing so much to help me and
others learn how to make music with the guitar.
Please know that you have created something of genuine
value with this product, and that the benefits of it
will be with me for as long as I make music."

Wow.

I really wish I had a network of instructors across the continent who would be willing to take on opportunities like this. One day, I hope. As the message says, a sympatico guitar teacher is worth his weight in gold.

I really like the fact he mentions "a lesson or two (or more)" - in my experience with open-D tuning, sometimes 1 or 2 sessions is all it takes for lift-off.

In the mean time, I probably should really get to work on those supplemental lesson packs.

Labels: easier guitar, easy guitar, guitar, learn guitar, open-D guitar, play guitar

Many of the guitar greats couldn't read a note.

I read somewhere that Stevie Ray Vaughan had to learn to read music when he recorded guitar parts for David Bowie's album Let's Dance, but never had a need for it afterward.

I personally read (elementary and highschool band), but have not found reading necessary in pursuit of my musical ambitions. The basics may come in handy for reading chord charts (at least what time signatures and bars are for). I promote the fact, on my web site, that reading music is unnecessary for learning and enjoying guitar.

So I guess my opinion is - "Nah, you don't need to be able to read music to enjoy playing guitar."

Labels: easier guitar, guitar, learn guitar, open-D guitar, play guitar